Manually operated heavy training ropes for exercise with flexible grip handles and retaining collar

ABSTRACT

A non-covered and a covered heavy training rope has a flexible, non-slip, foam grip handle and a steel retaining collar that secures the handles to the rope. The grip handles can be applied to the ends of the rope using a lubricating adhesive/epoxy to create a form fitting, flexible, non-slip gripping surface that secures the rope ends while allowing for more natural motion of the wrist while absorbing sweat from the hands, decreasing slipping, improving the grip and extending the overall training time, intensity and conditioning benefits. The retaining collar (ferrule) can be placed over the open end of the foam grip handle and mechanically crimped onto the grip and rope, securing the handle to the rope. The foam grip handle, adhesive and retaining collar greatly improve the overall durability, functionality, professional appearance and marketability, thereby creating the first commercial quality heavy training rope with a handle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to training ropes and, more particularly,to a manually operated heavy training rope for exercise having flexiblegrip handles and a retaining collar.

As is common practice, heavy training ropes are anchored in the centerusing a pole or other type of smooth, solid anchor surface. Users placeboth ends of the rope in their hands and stretch out the rope whileleaving some slack. Users then make a variety of waving, circular orslamming type motions for a set duration of time, rest then repeat formultiple sets. These heavy rope exercises greatly affect the user'sarms, core, hips, legs, muscular endurance and cardiovascular systemwhile burning a high number of calories at the same time.

The most commonly used poly ropes are white and either made from 100%polypropylene material, which tend to be stiff, not flexible enough andfray easily. The 50-50% poly/cotton blend loose lay rope is primarilyused for splicing, tugging and securing for the marine/boating industry.When this boating blend is used for exercise, the three strand loose laycan “hockle” (yarns or thread become twisted and fall apart with use).Also, due to the higher percent of outer cotton surface material, thistype of rope becomes frayed more easily or gets “pulls” which eventuallybreaks down the rope and negatively affects the appearance and longevityof the rope, especially if the rope is repetitively hit and scrapedagainst the ground or abrasive surface. With regular indoor or,especially, outdoor use, the poly ropes can become soiled, dirty andfrayed.

The poly and manila ropes come on a six hundred foot coil and must becut using a hot knife or by hand. They are made with multiple fiberstrands, three main strands that are laid or twisted together using amachine process. It is necessary to secure the ends of the rope and themost common ways of doing this is by either taping the ends with ducttape, or using a plastic heat shrink end cap to keep the rope fromcoming unraveled. Once a rope unravels, it is very difficult to re-twistthe rope by hand back to its original shape and functionality. The hardplastic end caps are ridged and slippery which makes for a poor grippingsurface, especially as hands perspire. Most users are forced to choke upand hold onto the rope above the cap to get a more secure grip. By doingthis, it lowers the intensity of the training by shortening the ropelength. Also, the duct tape becomes sticky and breaks apart after ashort amount of time. With constant use and over time, the end cap gluecan break down and may cause the caps to slip off, causing the rope tounwind and making the rope unusable.

The manila rope can be messy and shed many fibers, requiring users tosweep the floor after use. For this reason, it is recommended that themanila rope be used only outdoors. Manila fibers can be abrasive whilehandling and splinters can happen, which can be dangerous for usersbecause the rope is chemically treated with a petroleum based mineraloil product. This petroleum creates an oily feel and also puts off agasoline type odor when new. In addition, surface fraying is common withrepetitive impact on the ground or other outdoor training surfaces. Ifthe rope is used or left outside and becomes wet, shrinkage of up to 10%may occur, thereby decreasing the overall weight and training benefit ofthe rope. Manila rope also tends to retain dirt and debris duringoutdoor use which, if brought back inside, creates more clean-up for theuser.

The poly and manila ropes are normally secured or anchored around a poleor some other type of smooth, round, fixed point. Wrapping andun-wrapping the rope around the anchor point takes additional time andeffort. This method of anchoring causes friction and wearing in thecenter of the rope, especially if the rope is anchored around a roughsurface, such as a tree, a square object, or if anchored aroundsomething that is thin with an edge that can cause the fibers to be cutand the rope to be ruined.

As can be seen, there is a need for an improved heavy training ropedesign that overcomes many of the issues encountered with conventionaltraining ropes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a training rope comprises alength of rope; and a flexible, non-slip PVC foam grip handle attachedto each end of the length of rope.

In another aspect of the present invention, a training rope comprises alength of rope; a flexible, non-slip PVC foam grip handle attached toeach end of the length of rope; a crimped ferrule disposed over the openend of the grip handle, securing the grip handle to each end of thelength of rope; and a protective cover disposed over the length of rope.

In a further aspect of the present invention, a training rope comprisesa length of rope; a flexible, non-slip foam grip handle attached to eachend of the length of rope; a protective cover disposed over the lengthof rope; a chafe guard disposed in a central portion of the length ofrope; and a strap loop attached to the chafe guard.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdrawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heavy training rope attached to asupport according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed side view of a handle portion of the heavy trainingrope of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the handle portion of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a detailed, partially cut-away perspective view of a chafeguard portion of the heavy training rope of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a detailed perspective view showing a heavy training ropeaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. Thedescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merelyfor the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention,since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a non-coveredand a covered rope solution having a flexible, non-slip, foam griphandle and a steel retaining collar (ferrule) that secures the handlesto the rope. The non-covered custom blend of poly combo rope made of 80%polypropylene core yarn and a 20% polyester outer yarn has a specialtight lay of the rope so that the three strands will remain firm andstay tight during use, reduce outer surface fraying while increasing thedifficulty of the training. The foam grip handles can be made in varioussizes, such as 1.5 inch and 2 inch sizes and are 6¼ inches to 7 inchesin length to fit onto the ends of the rope. The grip handles can beapplied to the ends of the rope using a lubricating epoxy and replacesthe hard and rigid conventional plastic end caps or duct tape, therebycreating a form fitting, flexible, non-slip gripping surface thatsecures the rope ends while allowing for more natural motion of thewrist while absorbing sweat from the hands, decreasing slipping,improving the grip and extending the overall training time, intensityand conditioning benefits. A stainless steel retaining collar (ferrule)can be placed over the open end of the foam grip handle and mechanicallycrimped onto the grip and rope, securing the handle to the rope. Thefoam grip handle, epoxy and retaining collar greatly improve the overalldurability, functionality, professional appearance and marketability,thereby creating the first commercial quality heavy training rope with apermanent handle.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 6, a training rope 10 can include arope component 12 having handles 14 disposed on each end thereof. Thehandles 14 can be made from a flexible material, such as apolyvinylchloride (PVC) foam. The PVC foam grip handles 14 can come invarious diameters, such as 2 inch and 1.5 inch diameters to fit onto theends of the rope and can be, for example, from about 6¼ inches to about7 inches in length to best facilitate different rope or hand size. Thehandles 14 can be applied to the ends of the rope 12 using a lubricatingadhesive, such as an epoxy, and replaces the hard and ridged plastic endcaps and or duct tape conventionally used, thereby creating a formfitting, flexible non-slip gripping surface that secures the rope endswhile allowing for more natural motion of the wrist and while absorbingsweat from the hands, decreasing slippage, improving the grip andextending the overall training time, intensity and conditioningbenefits.

A stainless steel retaining collar 16, also referred to as a ferrule 16can be placed over the open end of the foam grip handle 14 andmechanically crimped onto the grip handle 14 and rope 12, securinghandle 14 to the rope 12. The foam grip handle 14, adhesive andretaining collar 16 greatly improve the overall durability,functionality, professional appearance and marketability, therebycreating the first commercial quality heavy training rope with handle.

A protective cover 24, such as a water resistant nylon cover, can besewn into a tubular shape of varying lengths and placed over the manilaor poly rope 12, which protects the rope 12 from becoming dirty,fraying, or wet and can easily be cleaned after use. The protectivecover 24 is also available in a variety of colors and can be branded orpersonalized with school or organizational colors, embroidery, screenprinting or brand label. The protective cover 24 can include a built-inchafe guard 20 and anchor strap 18 that enable a user to quickly attachthe rope 12 to an anchor point 22 via a carabiner 28, for example, usingeither the strap 18 or chafe guard 20 while protecting the cover 24 fromfriction damage and save time from wrapping the rope 12.

The protective cover 24 comes in varying lengths and encases the 1.5 and2″ poly or manila rope. The cover 24 can be first sewn inside out into atubular shape then the anchor strap can be sewn into the chafe guard.Then the chafe guard 20 can be sewn into the center of the cover 24 andthe whole thing is reversed. The protective cover 24 can then be slidmanually over the rope using a custom made metal sleeve, wire and cablepuller device.

To make the training rope 10, in one embodiment of the presentinvention, the retaining collar 16 can be made from a strong material,such as stainless steel and can be applied over the rope end and coverthen the cut rope ends are secured with a flexible adhesive applied ontothe inner plastic end cap which will bond the inside of the cover toboth ends of the rope helping to keep the cover secured onto rope. Fourinches of the tubular fabric end is then spray glued inside and onto theoutside surface of fabric then folded over onto itself for glue toadhere, and then additional duct tape is applied over folded portion foradded strength. The handles are filled with a flexible rubber type ofadhesive which acts as a lubricant and then slid into place over thecover and rope ends. The retaining collar is then slid over the open endof the foam grip handle then crimpled onto the grip and rope. A brandlabel can then be applied around the rope just below the grip andcollar.

The chafe guard 20 can be made from, for example, a Codura nylon webbingmaterial. For 1.5″ rope, the chafe guard 20 can be made from a 13″ longby 7″ wide material. The 2″ rope uses a 13″ long by 8½″ wide material.This material is cut to size then hot knife sealed on one side so thatit doesn't fray during use. A nylon webbing anchor strap 18 can be madefrom material that is 18″ long by 1″ wide for 1.5″ rope and 19½″ long by1″ wide for 2″ rope. The anchor strap 18 can be sewn around the centerof the flat chafe guard and a loop is made in the anchor strap using abox tack seam. The chafe guard materials are then sewn into a tubularshape using half inch seams. This chafe guard is then reversed insideout and both ends are sewn onto the inside out nylon tubular cover.While the above refers to particular sizes and dimensions for the chafeguard and anchor strap, other sizes may be used in the presentinvention, depending upon the particular application.

The chafe guard 20 and rope 12 can be placed around a secured anchorpoint 22 which will protect the nylon cover 24 and the rope from chafingand fraying. The built in nylon anchor strap 18 with its looped end canbe easily secured and quickly attached to a mounted eye hook using acarabineer or other type of hardware attachment. In some embodiments, asecond loose anchor strap can quickly be wrapped around an anchor pointlike a pole or other sturdy object instead of wrapping the entire rope.This loose strap is then attached to the built in strap using acarabineer which will not only save set up time but will protect therope and cover from any possible friction or repetitive wear damage. Theloose and built in strap together will extend the rope length by up to13″ which will increase overall training intensity and allow the rope tomove in a more dynamic natural motion.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a rope 26 may be used to form the heavytraining rope of the present invention which can be used uncovered. Thehandle 14 and ferrule 16 may be applied and used similarly to thatdescribed above.

While the Figures show the ferrule 16 in place on both the covered rope12 and uncovered rope 26, the handles 14 may be attached and applied tothe ends of the rope 12, 26 without the use of the ferrule 16.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates toexemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A training rope comprising: a length of rope; anda flexible, non-slip foam grip handle attached to each end of the lengthof rope.
 2. The training rope of claim 1, further comprising aprotective cover disposed over the length of rope.
 3. The training ropeof claim 1, further comprising a ferrule disposed about an open end ofthe grip handle, securing the grip handle to each end of the length ofrope.
 4. The training rope of claim 1, further comprising a chafe guarddisposed in a central portion of the length of rope.
 5. The trainingrope of claim 4, further comprising a strap loop attached to the chafeguard.
 6. A training rope comprising: a length of rope; a flexible,non-slip foam grip handle attached to each end of the length of rope; aferrule disposed about an open end of the grip handle, securing the griphandle to each end of the length of rope; and a protective coverdisposed over the length of rope.
 7. The training rope of claim 6,further comprising a chafe guard disposed in a central portion of thelength of rope.
 8. The training rope of claim 7, further comprising astrap loop attached to the chafe guard.
 9. A training rope comprising: alength of rope; a flexible, non-slip foam grip handle attached to eachend of the length of rope; a protective cover disposed over the lengthof rope; a chafe guard disposed in a central portion of the length ofrope; and a strap loop attached to the chafe guard.
 10. The trainingrope of claim 9, further comprising a ferrule disposed about an open endof the grip handle, securing the grip handle to each end of the lengthof rope.